January 2007 Archives

Charles

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Funny thing happened on the way to Grass Valley, Calif., in '73 ...

A reporter in 1889 wanted to get some good tales of justice from Wells Fargo lawman James Hume. Hume recounted a beauty.

The stagecoach was on its way from Colfax, Calif., to Grass Valley in 1873. Aboard were 11 male passengers and one Miss E. Webber. Miss Webber was on her way to marry a wealthy miner, sight unseen, she met through a lonely hearts column in the newspaper.

On that trip, the Wells Fargo stagecoach had a strongbox aboard that contained $7,078 in gold coin. After crossing the Bear River, the stagecoach was stopped by five masked bandits who removed the passengers and placed explosive charges on the treasure box.

In the gentlewomanly ways of those times, Miss Webber engaged the scoundrels in conversation. She nicely asked the robbers to spare her luggage. It contained all her possessions, and the crooks had no immediate interest in it. One thief gallantly agreed to bring it down for her. As he pulled the trunk from atop the coach, Miss Webber caught a glimpse of his face. She told Hume later that conversation with the perpetrators might help identify them by voice. Under duress, Miss Webber was outthinking everyone at the scene.

Explosives opened the treasure box, and the outlaws faded into the forest with the money. Wells Fargo stagecoaches were very well made, and the coach survived the blast. Passengers and crew continued to Grass Valley, made their reports and went on with their lives. Miss Webber got to her destination and waited a short time for her unknown fiancé. He came to call a few hours later and brought a clergyman with him to perform the nuptials.

The groom was unusually shy and kept his head down. But when the minister declared the couple married, he faced Miss Webber full on for the consummating kiss. Miss Webber recognized his face—the scalawag who had robbed the stagecoach only hours before! She screamed and fled the room.

Hume was able to track down the larcenist, Louis Dreibelbis, and got the full confession with names of his accomplices. All paid for the crime in prison.

Miss Webber, meanwhile, was able to take some solace in the fact that the marriage was not official—she did not have to bear the pain of marriage to a criminal. She returned to her hometown in northern Indiana and married her childhood sweetheart.

"It was Fate!"

Charles

Over the weekend, I happened to watch a salute to Aretha Franklin, presented by the United Negro College Fund. It was the typical all-star bash with music, dignitaries, testimonials and all that. Throughout, The Queen of Soul herself sat in regal splendor.

I'm not a big fan of that kind of show—nor awards, royal weddings, or state funerals. (I'm more a film noir from the video store kind of guy.) But I stayed with the Aretha Franklin gala because I like her a lot and it got me thinking.

Miss Franklin's star took off in a big way after she signed with Atlantic Records in 1967. She was able to make music as she wished, away from formulas that other labels tried for her. She hit first with "I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Love You)," and "Baby I love You." "Respect" followed soon after, and it didn't take her long to become the legend we know.

Anyway, all this coincided with political, social and civil rights movements at that time that had special vitality for African-Americans. Miss Franklin was closely tied with her father's church in Detroit, and it with the efforts of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Arguably, Aretha Franklin herself occupied a central place where the political, the cultural and the popular intersected.

Add to this how really, really good she is—her voice was declared a natural resource by the state of Michigan in 1986!—and you have a kind of embodiment of the energy of an era.

I was growing up in that area at that time. AM Radio in those years was still pretty regional. I heard lots of soul—Motown, Chi-town and Stax variety. Aretha Franklin was paramount on the playlists. I also remember the civil rights and Black Power events of that time, from the evening news and from my own hometown and neighborhood. Add to that all the other political and social energies in the '60s. The world was totally in motion in those years.

When I think back on the '60s my mind rolls its Aretha Franklin soundtrack. And when I hear her sing—oldies and anything current—I feel those same feelings I had in those years, with the world rumbling through drastic changes, away from the last threads of "the past" and toward the uncertain fabrics of "now" and "tomorrow."

It's her voice and the way she phrases sounds and words through music. It's a magical experience for me. It's her humanness taking on a living property of history. Her music is some kind of magic wand that folds time.

Charles

USA Today tells us about the 100 best communities for young people. Kalamazoo, Mich., gives scholarships to every high school graduate (jeepers!). Louisville, Ky., is also on the list.

Then there's a story about how cities are worried that crime will stifle their attempts to make that list. Louisville gets a nod for having the energy and skill to be proactive about it.

I got to wondering about Louisvilleand how it has enjoyed success where other cities are still challenged. I chatted with people in the Economic Development Department about the city's improvement, and they offered several reasons for Louisville's resurgence.

The mayor is very determined and has a real vision. Louisville has refurbished its downtown over the last decade, and people are moving in. The city and county merged governments to streamline services. Law enforcement is dedicated to outreach and proactive solutions. Louisville recently signed a deal with two other cities to pool emergency resources in the event one or all three faced a disaster. Taking advance action, in other words, instead of waiting around for federal assistance.

Louisville is home to several leading-edge industries, including pharmaceuticals ("health enterprises") and transportation (or "logistics"). This might very well be the difference between success and failure for cities. One can have a vision and rebuild the crumbling downtown, but if there is no work for people to move to ... Well, the gleaming skyline is just a gleaming ghost town.

So there's an element of luck. But luck is one of those intangible things that has real impact. Another is attitude. The Louisvillians I spoke with were adamant that the city has a real vibe, a positive sense of itself that began at the time the city rebuilt. Business that contributed to growth and created jobs in the process were as attracted to the vibe as they were to tax breaks.

If you're superstitious and believe in luck, you can also believe in vibe. Call me crazy if you want—you can reach me in The Ville.

Charles

Allensworth, Calif., is in trouble. A state historical site, Allensworth could soon be surrounded by a large dairy operation—and the miscellaneous discomforts that go with it.

Allensworth is one of several towns founded in the West by African-American migrants after the Civil War. The town didn't survive the Great Depression, but it has become a destination for visitors with interest in African-American heritage and pioneering heritage.

Col. Allen Allensworth escaped slavery during the Civil War and served in the U.S. Navy. After the war, Allensworth was a restaurant owner and was ordained a Baptist minister. He returned to the service with a commission as chaplain in the U.S. Army.

Col. Allensworth moved to California with the goal of creating a place where African-Americans could develop their lives free of prejudice. In 1908, Allensworth and his fellow pioneers founded the town in Tulare County named for him. Located on the Santa Fe Railroad, the farms and schools in Allensworth prospered for a few years. But the town was unable to establish a college (to be named "Tuskegee of the West"), and water resources began to dwindle; Col. Allensworth himself was hit and killed by a motorcycle in 1914. By the 1930s, most residents had moved to seek jobs in other areas.

The town became a California State Historic Park in 1976.

Steve

Read Part 1

The Pony Express was a mammoth undertaking, with more than 100 stations and 400 horses and between 80 and 100 riders. The route between Missouri and California took an average of 10 days to cross except during winter, when it could take 12 days. The Pony Express left San Francisco on Wednesdays and Saturdays with up to 20 pounds of express mail enclosed in four pockets of a "mochila ," a type of saddle bag. The riders rode an average of 75 miles in nine hours, changing horses up to five times. The stations provided fresh horses every 10 to 15 miles.

Ten weeks after the Pony Express opened for business, Congress appropriated funds for building a transcontinental telegraph line that connected Missouri to the Pacific Coast. As construction got underway, the Pony Express continued delivering letters and newspapers. Where the wires ended, the Pony Express rider picked up the telegram and carried it the rest of the way.

With the completion of the transcontinental telegraph on October 26, 1861, the line of communication was established between San Francisco and New York. Pony Express service officially ended on that day, but Pony Express riders continued to deliver letters until November 1861. In operation between April 1860 and October 1861, the trans-Missouri Pony Express carried 35,000 letters, two-thirds of which traveled to the East.

As a means of communication, the Pony Express linked East to West during a pivotal moment in the history of the United States, when regional differences escalated into national conflict. During the same month that the Pony Express commenced operations, Confederate troops attacked Fort Sumter, and the nation’s attention riveted on the Civil War for the next five years.

Today the original trail is gone, and questions remain about the exact location of the Pony Express route. Sections of the trail are visible only in Utah and California. However, the National Park Service has an effort underway to make approximately 120 historic sites open to the public, including 50 accessible Pony Express stations or station ruins.

Pony Express Quick Facts:

• List Salary: $100 per month.
• Qualifications: Age ranged from 11 to mid-40s. Riders had to weigh less than 125 pounds.
• Speed of Rider: Average 10 miles per hour.
• Quickest Run: 7 days and 17 hours. The riders carried President Lincoln's Inaugural Address.
• Cost of Mail: $5 per half-ounce at first. Wells Fargo lowered the price to $2 per half-ounce and later $1 per half-ounce.

Steve

In a little while all interest was taken up in stretching our necks and watching for the "pony-rider"—the fleet messenger who sped across the continent from St. Joe to Sacramento. ... Presently the [stagecoach] driver exclaims: "HERE HE COMES!" ...

Away across the endless dead level of the prairie a black speck appears ... In a second or two it becomes a horse and rider, ... man and horse burst past our excited faces, and go winging away ... So sudden is it all ...

—"Roughing It"  by Mark Twain 

Even though Mark Twain romanticized the Pony Express, his description reflects the 19th century outlook of many American entrepreneurs and politicians intent on establishing the fastest lines of communication and transportation to connect a nation from coast to coast. In the 21st century, communication in the United States can be instantaneous, but in the 19th century, settlers yearned for letters and news that could take at least four months to arrive.

As Americans migrated westward searching for gold and seeking to establish settlements, the need for a speedy mail service arose. At the time, the idea behind the Pony Express was to deliver mail faster. It was the best option, since roads for stagecoaches in outlying areas of the West did not exist. In 1852, the year Wells, Fargo, and Company opened for business, the geography of the United States was void of its present-day network of freeways and railroads.

The Pony Express began as a private mail delivery service in April 1860 when the Overland California and Pikes Peak Express  (COC & PPE) offered lightning-fast mail delivery between St. Joseph, Mo., and Sacramento, Calif. Covering 1,966 miles in 10 days, the Pony Express became the quickest way to deliver mail. However, without a government contract to finance this huge endeavor, the COC & PPE became known as "Clean Out of Cash & Poor Pay Express." The owners had invested $700,000 and faced the daunting task of paying off a $200,000 debt.

In 1861, the United States government awarded the contract for mail service to the Overland Mail Company and required the contractor to operate a semiweekly pony express route. Through its control of the Overland Mail Company, Wells Fargo took over direct management of the trans-Missouri Pony Express line on July 1, 1861.

January 18: Part 2

Charles

The Paris Hilton.

Many Europeans have a strong appetite for things American West. Americans traveling abroad  have an appetite for things American. These two truths fit together beautifully in this 1966 gem.

Bon appétit!

Charles

These days, modern banking and technology is pretty good at nailing crooks. Basically, electronics allows a certain "ID" on transactions that are hard to fake or alter. There's a long history of bad guys trying to insert their evil ways into banks' systems that protect customer identities and assets.

Back in the 19th century, machines that embossed a check  with some identifier—numbers, a phrase, whatever—were used. The machine punched little holes through the check that formed "40 dollars," or "CANCELED," or whatever. A cashier need only hold the check up to the light and see the cancellation peeking through the many punched holes. It discouraged forgers from altering the written portion of a check, changing 40 to 400 or altering signatures.

But bad guys have been as cagey as good guys, history shows. (Fortunately, the score is still lopsided in favor of the good guys.) A forger named Carl Becker made a name for himself at the turn of the century and put together elaborate schemes for cashing other people's checks. He got hold of a check in 1895, already cashed for 12 bucks. (Becker had guys on the "inside.") He altered the "12" to "22,000" and did microscopic work on punching new holes in the embossing and cleverly filling in the old ones. It was pretty hard work with a darning needle (I swear!), but Becker and his crew made thousands on the scam.

Naturally, it didn't work. It never does. Detectives did forensic work with photography . They took extreme close-ups of the check to show the subtle changes that had been missed by naked eyes. Becker and his boys were locked up for years.

Charles

Good year  in 2007? Or bad year ?

Looks like the same AP  and AOL News  poll of 1,000 people. Why the two different stories?

Please let me know what your take is on this. And don't forget to share your New Year's Resolutions!

Christy

Not that long ago, you actually had to go into a bank branch to do all of your banking business. This is hard to remember in today’s technologically savvy environment. Now you can transfer funds via telephone, you can hit just about any ATM  and get cash, and you can do almost any banking transaction online, including financing a car.

However, the inception of Motor Banking back in the late 1950s/early 1960s revolutionized the way that people did their banking. No longer did you have to get to the bank at its hours (usually Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 or 4 p.m.—yikes!). No longer did you have to find a parking space, get little Jimmy out of the car seat, and head into the branch to wait for money. All you had to do was pull up to the window and have your banking needs met from the comfort of your own car.

And at Wells Fargo Bank, they took it one step further. They introduced the TV Auto Banker service:

Quick, easy and fun, too! Our new TV Auto Banker brings the teller to you via television. You can make deposits, withdrawals and cash checks from the comfort of your car. You can see and talk to the teller through special closed-circuit TV plus a powerful two-way voice communication unit. An underground pneumatic tube whisks transactions between the two stations.

Although not every service was available with the TV teller, at least you had a new convenience to make your life easier. This may not be as easy as paying your bills online (as I often do from my laptop while still in my pajamas), but these technological advances paved the way for the banking we do today.